Today's Math Lesson: Rain = Total Chaos

I must have jinxed it with my last post - today we had massive amounts of rain, even by English standards. Actually, the rain in England is generally a constant annoying drizzle, while today we had a massive downpour. Which for some reason threw the whole school into confusion. To be fair, there was some flooding in one of the wings, and apparently thunder storms are not that common over here. It was still surprising to see how scared some of the students were, and that they were not allowed to leave their classrooms for almost two hours because of the weather. Luckily the kids I had to entertain were pretty cool.

All in all, I can't really complain about the weather, since it led to me having some extra time off and missing two of my least favourite classes. Not everyone in Yarmouth can be quite so postive; one of the streets near my house was under a few feet of water. They had to re-route all the traffic and many stores and houses experienced quite a bit of damage (enough to be the top story on the Norfolk news). So we can also be thankful that our house seems to be on relatively high ground. It does concern me that this is not the first time (or even the second time) that someplace I have been visiting has been featured in the news... it really makes me wonder.

Adventures in Church-Going

I must start out by admitting that I didn't actually have any such adventures today - instead I decided to sleep in. I have, however, visited a couple of churches in the past month, and have definitely had unique experiences at both. The first church I visited was an old Anglican church in the town centre of Yarmouth. It is a beautiful building, and the service seemed fairly typical of the Church of England (based on my extremely limited experience with that denomination) - except for the fact that there were dogs and cats (and some snails!) present in the congregation, along with a couple dozen humans. Apparently I was visiting on "Pet Sunday" and people were bringing in their animal friends to be blessed. That was definitely something new for me. The other church that I visited was also quite small and the people were extremely welcoming, but I don't think it's the place for me. It was a little too open-ended and disorganized for even me (although there is definitely something to be said about not over-rehearsing for Sunday morning services). So it seems as though I must continue my search for a church community - although I may check out the "pet" church again sometime.

In other news...well, there isn't much to say that I haven't already said in previous posts. Here are a few things that may or may not interest you:

The school weeks continue to fly by (which is good, because the weekends fly by equally quickly). My classes are still challenging but manageable, and the weather is still sunny and fairly warm (even though it's England! It's quite amazing, actually).

The stores here have already started selling Christmas candies, cards and decorations, which seems ridiculously early, though not entirely surprising.

I have just finished reading Marley & Me by John Grogan, which I quite enjoyed. It's obviously not great literature, but it is an entertaining read. Who doesn't like stories about precocious dogs?

I have also discovered a couple of British TV shows that I can tolerate (although I'm not sure I should admit to watching either of them...): Da Ali G Show and X-Factor, which is like American Idol except maybe slightly less annoying.

I said "pants" instead of "trousers" for the first time on Friday, luckily not in front of any students.

Other than that, I am feeling quite settled and am looking forward to doing some travelling in the next month or so. So I guess that's that.

To close, here is this week's chocolate bar tally: 5 and two thirds remaining. Of course, I consistently fail to mention the various other forms of chocolate I consume on a daily basis...

Has It Really Been Two Weeks?

Remaining Chocolate Bars = 8. (Seriously!)

It seems slightly unbelievable but I have actually completed two full weeks of teaching. Time is just flying by, which I guess is a good thing - at least when I'm feeling homesick. But generally I am having a good time. As for my job, I am learning a lot as I go and am gradually becoming comfortable with the way that things work over here. I do find it hilarious that students are making appointments with me for Year 11 Parents' Night next Tuesday. One student put it well when he asked, "You really won't have much to say at this point, will you miss?" No, I will not indeed.

I have also discovered that when I was told that the students were relatively well behaved, the word "relatively" was key. English students are definitely more talkative than the students I have dealt with in Canada, and they definitely seem to have less "fear" of those in authority. Which is sometimes not a good thing. I do teach a lot of great kids though...they aren't ALL bad.

Aside from teaching, some of the last couple of weeks' highlights included:

- finally getting bank accounts AND our first pay cheques!

- visiting Norwich this afternoon, doing a lot of shopping (i.e. spending the aforementioned pay cheque), and being accosted by a man on the street handing out random incense...

- hanging out with our roommates, Darren and Kelly, who, sadly, are leaving us in a few weeks for Canada, of all places

-having my first English Starbucks! It was eerily similar to Canadian Starbucks...surprise, surprise.

So obviously it has been a productive couple of weeks.

I will close this post with a few pictures. More pictures of our house will probably follow (if and when I decide that isn't embarassing to stand on the street outside one' s house and take pictures), as well as pictures of our roomies and any future travels.

This is my room four weeks ago. It is now much more chaotic, and the walls are not as empty.

Another angle of my room.

Our Bathroom!

Meghan and I in Inverness.

Loch Ness.

A view of Urquhart Castle from across Loch Ness.
Our castle hostel in Culrain!
One of the lounges inside our Castle hostel.
The Nevis Range.
Me freezing near the top of one of the mountains in the Nevis range.

A very Mel Gibson-esque statue of William Wallace at the base of the Wallace monument.

The view from Stirling castle (the Wallace monument is in the distance)

Good Music Is On the Way

Today is the release date of John Mayer's latest CD Continuum. I know this because I have been waiting for John to put out a new album for a while now. Since I haven't actually purchased said album yet, and have only heard one of its tracks, I probably shouldn't be singing its praises at this point. But if John's other three CDs are any indication, this album will be worth checking out. Well, at least if you like to hear strong musicianship and better-than-average lyrics. So go out and listen to it, and let me know what you think.

Cadbury is My New Best Friend (Or Is It My Worst Enemy?)

One of the things I had been looking forward to before coming to England was the chocolate. Forget the travel experience and the new people - I came for Cadbury. Happily, it seems to be just as popular here as it was last year. And, since I am a serious chocoholic, this is a dangerous thing. Case in point: yesterday I purchased ten chocolate bars (yes, 10) for a mere 2 pounds. How could I honestly pass that up? I was so proud (proud/embarassed...). I'm hoping that my chocolate supply will last me the month - feel free to make your predictions on how long it will ACTUALLY last.

The World Wide Web Arrives in Yarmouth

We have internet!! I am sad to admit that this is one of the most exciting things that has happened this week... it really is kind of shameful that I am this dependent on technology. But anyways, all this to say that I will hopefully be able to post more frequently and chat with people over the computer. As Kip Dynamite would say (or sing): "I love technology". What can I say.

And So It Begins....

Not just my blog either. It is also the beginning (pretty much) of my year in England, and of my 25th year of life. So this really is a momentous occasion.

I started this blog so that people could keep up to date with my (mis)adventures overseas....and with my life in general. It does seem a little presumptuous to assume that people will want to read this - so thanks for actually reading it!

Anyhow, since I should probably write something of actual interest, here is how I've spent my time in the UK thus far:

- wandering around the town of Great Yarmouth, trying to find internet access, various household supplies, food, and other such items. I discovered (much to my dismay) that there is very little in the way of coffee shops, and there are very few people my age. Though there must be some 24 year olds (I can't believe I'm 24!) somewhere...

- visiting the school I will be teaching at and discovering that I really know nothing about the education system. The people seem nice though, and apparently the students are relatively well behaved.

- travelling Scotland. My cousin and I visited Inverness (yes, we did tour Loch Ness, and yes, I did feel like a tourist. It was a beautiful lake though), Culrain (where we stayed in a castle), Fort William, and Stirling (home of the William Wallace monument). It was great to get back on the road again, and Scotland was amazing. I liked it almost as much as I liked Ireland.

And I guess that's it for now. I have no clue how this year is going to turn out, but we shall see what happens. At the very least, I will have lots to write about...

The End.